


Siren Song

by YouAreMyHappilyEverAfter



Category: Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: M/M, Pirates, Siren Maxie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2020-03-06 12:21:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18850969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouAreMyHappilyEverAfter/pseuds/YouAreMyHappilyEverAfter
Summary: Archie has been sailing for a while now. He’s seen plenty of different places, even more people, but everywhere, people are the same. They hate the Earth. All he needed to do was find Kyogre to use his power to give the planet back to the Pokemon. There was just one problem, though. On their journey, they accidentally picked up a siren that could ensnare his crew with a song. And, oh yeah, wanted to eat him. No problem.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We've been working on this a long time and I hope you all enjoy it! It's one of our more laidback stories, but we still had a lot of fun with it! - Kit
> 
> This is still a work in progress, so we'd really like to know what you guys think about this! ~Kas

"You know, I'm kinda regretting not just raiding this place," Archie mumbled around the sucker he was half-chewing on in his mouth. "I mean, look at this shit. They have some good silver and it's too fucking expensive. We'd be doing a service."

Shelly laughed beside him, nudging him. "Yeah. To us. Let's make sure we can at least come back to a  _ couple _ ports, alright Captain?" Ugh, the title near always made him wince.

"It's their fault for not being prepared for pirates, now isn't it?" Archie shot back, cracking down on the sucker and splitting it in two, still absently chewing on the stick. "'Sides, this place would be fine. They're fucking rich."

"Yeah, but  _ we _ couldn't come back. They'd chase us out. You're the one that said 'lie low' in the first place."

"Even if Shelly can't really do that," Matt pointed out to them.

Ignoring the two as they started yet another argument, Archie sighed as they walked away from the silver shop. It'd be fun to just steal a few things and then run off, but he couldn't do that anymore. He was 'Captain'. He had to be all responsible and shit just as he had been doing for the past  _ nine months _ . He was really starting to get sick of being Captain. At first it sounded fun, but now it just seemed like more work than it was worth. Maybe he could pass the Captaincy off to Shelly...

She, at least, was dressed the part. Dramatic coat that she had stolen off a noble in one of the cities they had visited, a feathered hat she had won from a pirate in a bar, and a sword that she had brought from home that was sharp as her words. Yeah. She'd be a great Captain, but she didn't  _ want _ it. She wanted her freedom way too badly to give it up for that. And she wasn't exactly the most responsible... Maybe Matt? He was good with responsibility and taking care of his family. Archie thought it over before finally shaking his head. Matt was definitely better at going with the flow than giving orders.

Jeez, that didn't leave anyone else, really. Most of the crew they had picked up were teenagers running away to the sea. They were good kids, but they didn't know enough to lead someone. The older ones, like the cooks and the blacksmith, were too in love with their passions to ever give it up for something like Captain. No... As much as he didn't want it, Archie was the only one on the ship who could do it. But jeez, sometimes he wished they'd pick up someone else who was just right-

"Oh, sorry." Archie steadied the older man he had run into, waving off Shelly and Matt's looks. "Wasn't payin' attention. Hey, quick question, what's the next port after this one if we head north?"

"Head north? That'd be Meadowing Shore but- But you're goin' 'round the Spades, right?"

"Nah, we're just gonna cut right through."

"Ye must be joking! No ships these days pass through the Spades and live to tell the tale! Talk of a creature lies in the depths, waiting to sink anyone that sails in."

"A creature?" Shelly crossed her arms, her eyebrows raising. "Like what, a pokemon of some sort? That just sounds interesting!"

As the old man sputtered, Archie felt a grin form on his own face. "A mysterious creature and ships that never go near it? Sounds like an adventure to me."

"T'aint no pokemon! Word is spreading that a  _ mer _ has taken up the Spades as home." A mer, huh? Doubtful. Archie had heard all the tales before and they never changed.

"Or it's a pokemon who's pissed off by you humans messing with its territory," Archie waved off. Far less interesting. "Don't worry, we'll steer clear of any tails and blonde hair."

"C'mon, Cap'n," Shelly said with a roll of her eyes, nudging him. "It's already a three day journey to the next port. Going around the Spades would add another day."

"We'll just skim it." They could at least keep an eye out for anything weird. "C'mon, we have a few more things to stock up on- Hey, old man, are there any shops that sell silver here that aren't so fucking expensive?" But the man was already walking away, glancing back at them and shaking his head, muttering to himself. Honestly, he looked at him like they were on their way to Dratini Jones'. "Think we're about to die at sea, then?"

"No way," Shelly laughed. "Just another tall tale."

"We'll be fine, Cap'n," Matt waved off, Archie just barely hiding his wince. "We've handled worse, after all!"

"Yeah we have! Alright, mates! All aboard!"

"Yeah," Archie mumbled, sighing as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "All aboard."

::

Swearing as he near slipped - again - Archie clung onto one of the railings and watched his crew slide around the soaked deck of the S.S. Aqua. As much as he loved his ship, it was hell when sailing during stormy weather just as this. The storm had been going for hours, now, and it showed no signs of breaking. The wind slashed at them and the rain felt like hail as it pelted them from all sides. And then, in the midst of all the chaos and thundering, Archie heard a... A song. Like an angel.

No... No, that wasn't right, though. No one on his ship would be singing during weather like this, so why was he hearing... It sounded so beautiful. Archie moved towards the front of the ship, looking out over the waters and trying to locate the source of the music. It sounded like the ocean come to life. He couldn't find where it was coming from but- But he  _ had _ to. He had to find it- "Captain. Hear that?"

"Yeah- Yeah, I hear it." Archie climbed onto the figure head, clutching onto the wood tightly with blunt nails as he scanned the waters. "Gotta be around here somewhere." Everyone had just about stopped what they were doing to listen.

"Hang on- It's getting quieter," Shelly called, panic lacing into her voice. "Captain! We have to find it!"

"It's going into the rocks," Matt called, voice loud as it could be over the storm from where he was at the wall. "Orders, Cap'n!"

"We-" Rocks. The storm was raging and his ship was shaking and Archie was captain and he had to protect them and the song was calling to him as if to say come home, _come home_ , but his ship- "No. No, the rocks would- They'd tear us apart."

Shelly whipped around to him and Matt gave him those awful Deerling eyes like he was being torn apart from the inside out. "But- Captain!"

"Captain, we can't lose track of it!"

"I know, but-" Too dangerous. He wanted to go home, too, but not yet. "Turn the ship around, we need to get out of here."

"Turn the ship around?!"

"We have to go through the Spades!"

"We don't have enough-"

"Turn this damn ship around  _ now _ ! That's an order!" No sooner did the words leave his lips, a horrifying, hellish screech tore through the air, causing them all to quickly cover their ears, wincing at the pain of the ringing. Cracking his eyes open, Archie saw a flash of red from beneath the churning black waves. Night had fallen long ago and Archie was realizing just how dangerous this area now was. "Get us out of here, Matt, now!"

"On it, Archie!" The  _ thing _ continued to screech and scream, and for one moment that had Archie's heart beating out of his chest, it was silent. That wasn't good. That could never- Archie and a good deal of the others screamed or yelled as the ship suddenly lurched to the side. It was only Shelly grabbing him and pulling him backwards that saved him from falling into the waters.

"Archie, what the hell?! What's going on?" Oh gosh... Shelly looked terrified, and he couldn't blame her. Another screech and the ship was tipping again, but not enough to go over.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Grabbing Shelly by her coat, Archie dragged her over towards Matt, pushing her towards him before taking the wheel and sharply turning it straight towards the rocks. As the boat evened out, he quickly turned the opposite way from whatever had hit them, hoping the sudden changes in direction threw it off.

" _ Meal, _ " he heard. He heard the damn thing. It wanted to make a  _ meal _ out of them?! Fuck, that didn't mean it was some type of pokemon.  _ Fuck _ . They needed to get out of here.

"Brace yourselves!" Okay, maybe if they went through the gap in the cliffs over there they could throw it off their tracks. Whatever it was had to be big to be pushing the ship around like that. Was... Were all the tales of the mer really true? Could they be? He'd spent years on the sea and never seen one, but he'd never come across something like this.

No. No, there was no way- Focus, Archie, focus. He was Captain. He was  _ Captain _ , and right now his crew was scared. He had to keep them safe. Fuck, he hoped this worked. More screeching followed as Archie steered them into the cliffs. Just barely fit, but that meant they couldn't be tipped. He thought he felt something pull the ship, but then... Nothing. Silence. Nothing pushing or pulling the ship. Like it was just gone.

"I don't like this." Even with the storm still raging, Archie could hear Shelly's scared whisper over it all. "It's not just me, right? It feels like it's still there." Yeah... Yeah, not just her.

"Well, we're gonna get out of these waters and go around, and avoid  _ whatever _ that thing was." Keeping the ship steady, Archie finally eased up a little. "Matt, take over, keep us straight on course and get us out of this fucking place." With that, he was letting the wheel go and moving to the front of the ship. He didn't trust this.

"Aye aye," Matt said seriously, keeping them on track as Archie climbed onto the railing to peer into the waters below. Not a thing. As though there wasn't anything to begin with. With the way they were tucked into the cliffs, it was like the storm had even lost sight of them. Archie didn't trust it - didn't trust it, didn't like it, didn't believe it. Something was very, very wrong.

"I know you're out there." What had the power to sing a song that would make them like that and then want to  _ eat _ them? Archie heard the stories of sirens, of course, but... How could they ever be true? Some half-fish half-human singing creature that  _ ate humans and fish? _ When he was young, it seemed like some story he was told so he wouldn't wander out too far.

There was no way it was true, but... Whatever it was pushed their whole ship, ensnared all of them with a single song, and could speak. It could speak English. It wasn't friendly, either. "Get those sails out! I want us out of this area an hour ago!"

"Yes sir!"

"Aye aye, Captain!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Eugh. Right, just, put up with it for nwo, Archie, you had to get them all to safety. It was his responsibility. His. No one else. It was up to him and dozens of lives rested on his shoulders- Focus. For now, he just needed to… focus.

::

Ridiculous. It had been  _ hours, _ and it looked like they got away scot-free. Archie didn't like it. "Storm's clearing up, Cap'n," Matt said, nudging him from where they were at the front of the bow. "You could probably go and get some rest before Shelly raises a mutiny."

"I'd rather keep an eye on everything, Matt."

And then, almost like an echo, " _ Matt, _ " he just barely heard. But it couldn't have been an echo. Not the way the voice seemed to crack from too much salt and gargle in the water.

"Please tell me you heard that," Archie said softly, staring down at the water and he heard it. He had  _ heard _ it. Someone had said Matt's name.

Matt frowned at him. "Heard what? Bro, you really need sleep."

"You- You didn't hear someone else saying your name?" Archie looked to Matt almost desperately and no- No, there had to have been- There had been a voice.

"No?" Matt shook his head as he took up Archie's position at the railing. "Just you. Why?"

"Nothing. No reason. I guess I'm just more tired than I thought." It had followed them. How did Archie say that without raising the whole ship into a panic, though? He'd have to tell them below deck. Better chance of the thing not hearing them. But Archie knew for a fact that they were being followed. "Hey, will you and Shells come with me for a second, actually? I wanted your opinion on something."

"Uh... Yeah. Shelly?"

" _ Shelly, _ " he heard again.

"Comin', bro!"

Archie snatched Matt's shirt and dragged him towards the entrance to the lower deck, grabbing Shelly's hand as they passed. "Keep quiet and keep calm, I need to tell you both something."

Shelly frowned at him. "Arch, hey, what's up? You're not normally so-"

"Crazy." Waiting until they were down in the hold and protected from behind overheard, Archie looked at them carefully.

"Whatever attacked us a few hours ago? I don't think we left it behind. I think it followed us."

"Archie, come on. It's been hours and nothing. We're fine. We got out-"

"I heard something repeating the names we said from the water. It was the same voice I heard when we were in the Spades."

"You- You think that thing -  _ whatever _ it was - not only followed us miles out of its territory but is also learning our names?"

"I know, it sounds crazy, but that's what it is." It was learning their names quick, too. "I don't know what it's planning, but keep an eye out and be careful, okay? I don't want the crew knowing yet, either."

"...Alright. Since you're so sure about this. Go get some sleep though, yeah? We can handle ourselves." As much as he didn't want to, Archie sighed and nodded, heading further down the ship to his room. That was one good thing about being Captain, he supposed. Private rooms.

From his porthole, he could hear Matt whistling. Huh. Glad he got... Better...

Feeling warmth on his face after a few moments, Archie frowned and what? Was Shelly trying to drip candle wax on him again? He told her last time- Sunlight. Why was there- He had just laid down? He had barely even closed his eyes a few seconds ago! There was no way he could have slept through the night and into morning. Everyone in the ship knew he was the lightest sleeper of them.

There was a harsh rapping at his door. "Captain! You're gonna want a look at this!" Fuck, what else could go wrong, then. Stumbling out of bed and still dressed from the night before, Archie only took the time to right his bandana before opening the door.

"What happened? I swear to Arceus if Matt fell overboard again-"

"No, Captain." Shelly wasn't even trying to joke around. It had to be bad. "We tried fishing, this morning, and our crew says it was heavy, going to bring in a big haul."

"Was? Going to?" Archie really didn't like the sound of that. "Did the lines break?"

"I'm thinking you were right about what you told us last night." The two walked out to the nets. The lines still seemed sturdy, but there was only a single fish caught within the net.

"The fuck," Archie breathed quietly, moving to inspect the net. There were no tears in it, no way for them to get out or escape. The only way would be if someone were to open the net from underwater. Fuck. "Talk to the cooks, half rations until we reach the next port."

Shelly gave him a nod. "Yes sir. What are we gonna do at port? The plan was to sell any extra fish we caught."

"Yeah, that was the plan, wasn't it?" Debating for a moment, Archie shook his head. "I'll let you know soon." With that, he was climbing up towards the crow's nest. He needed to think because there was always the option of pillaging, but that was a last resort plan for a reason. They had a fucking mermaid on their tails, no chance of losing it, and-

He saw red. Literally, in the water, he'd seen something bright and fiery red. Like... Like hair. It was getting cocky. Gritting his teeth, Archie felt himself shake for a moment because there was some mythical monster stalking them and it was getting  _ cocky _ . It thought it could tease him and starve his crew and nothing would come of it? It was making a big fucking mistake.

Fingering the pokeballs on his belt, Archie carefully took one off and stared at it. While he had always been a bit impulsive, would this be going a little too far to call Drago out? He knew Drago could take care of himself most days, but this thing was formidable... It'd only be to scare it a little. Not a real fight. Drago would have fun, too. Would think it was all a big game. Another flash of red had him making up his mind, pressing the button and aiming it for the water.

As usual, Drago emerged with a roar that near cracked the air, diving into the water and rocking the ship on the waves it caused. Archie couldn't stop his smile at the behavior. Drago roared and snarled, all his usual behavior as he dove underwater... And he didn't come back up. That- That wasn't right. Grabbing a rope, Archie took a moment ot make sure it was taunt before he was throwing himself out of the crow's nest and rappling down to land on the railing, scanning the waters the second he caught his balance.

It took a few minutes, but Drago surfaced again and...purring. Drago, his giant fearsome Gyarados he had sent to deal with the siren wreaking havoc on his ship was purring and acting like a pleased Skitty. Archie stared for a long time before giving a sharp whistle and getting Drago's attention. "Drago. The fuck?" Why was he purring? He never purred! He heard a whistle echoed back from behind Drago. He couldn't see the source but Drago was quickly turning and dove underwater again, splashing as he went and hiding the creature.

Archie couldn't help but mutter a few more swears under his breath because had his fearsome and ferocious and fucking awesome Gyarados just been charmed by a fucking siren? Judging by the delighted calls, he'd have to give that one a yes. Useless. Fuck, okay, he could fix this. What other pokemon did he gave that could scare of a siren? He... Nothing. Fuck. They were all royally fucked and there wasn't a thing Archie could do about it.

No, no, he couldn't think like that. There had to be  _ something _ . Maybe if he could get Drago to lure the thing up they could shoot it with the canons? Mm. They could empty the icebox and hope it was satisfied with the fish? No, the empty nets proved that wouldn't work. Or maybe... Maybe it was working. It had sounded hungry yesterday, but here they were, middle of the wide open sea sailing along like there wasn't a creature of death following them.

It was just using them to get food. After seeing the place it had been, Archie wasn't surprised. It would probably follow them, steal their fish to regain strength, and then settle down at the next island for a while. As long as no one went overboard or was too much of an idiot, they would be fine. They would be... Fine.

::

"Land, ho!" Arceus, finally. Excusing himself from the cook that was throwing a hissy fit, Archie quickly went back up to deck and grinned at the chaos that surrounded him. Throwing himself into the docking procedures, he made sure to call out orders to those who needed it, keeping a careful eye on the water, as well. Everything had been quiet - except for Matt whistling the past couple nights and knocking Archie out instantly. But he knew without a doubt that the creature had followed them to Meadowing Shores. Hopefully now it would- It would  _ eat _ and leave them alone.

"Alright, you lot, you know the rules! Twenty-four hours of shore leave and if you're not back I  _ will _ leave you behind!" Half of them were already laughing and playing and heading for the plank to get off. They were kind of adorable. Hearing whistling, he turned with a grin towards Matt - he really had gotten better. But... But Matt's mouth was closed. He wasn't whistling. Then who... Whistling. That- Oh, Arceus, don't tell him. Scrambling up towards the railing, Archie quickly scanned the waters, looking for any sign of red.

Archie finally got a good look at the creature that had been tailing them since the Spades. It... It wasn't big and monstrous. It looked human. It looked like a guy, actually. Albeit, a guy with kinda long bright red hair, and eyes to match. Then the creature bared fangs and Archie saw nothing but a monster that was very, very hungry. "Shelly, Matt," Archie called back, trying to keep his voice even. "Tell everyone to stay away from the water."

"On it, Captain!"

"You got it." He watched as the creature glanced to the shore where his crew was already starting to enjoy themselves. The creature turned to stare back up at him.

"I know you can understand me." Archie met its gaze, trying not to show his discomfort. "I don't give a fuck if you eat every human on this island, but you stay away from my crew."

The beast hissed and seemed to swim  _ closer. _ "I hunger." Arceus fuck Archie was very much in the mood to run the fuck away then and there.

"Do I look like I give a shit? Avoid mine. I don't care what else you do." That... He saw its eyes  _ gleam. _ It was planning something. Archie only glared back, refusing to turn away first. It looked back to the island and shot Archie a wicked sharp grin and... It was gone. "Fuck."

Heading towards the plank, Archie kept a hand close to his pokemon. While he was going to keep his crew away from the shore, he was definitely going to be keeping an eye out for that damn monster. Aside from his loud ass crew, there wasn't a damn sound, and that was almost worse. Hopefully that thing actually stayed and listened to him. He may not have wanted to be captain, but he would go down fighting for his crew.

Taking a calming breath - or at least trying to - Archie headed towards the town. There was shopping to do, after all, and regrettably he wouldn't be able to go for a swim until they were well away from this place. This place and that  _ thing _ .

::

He couldn't be upset that some of his crew were enjoying the night at the local pub. They had been given twenty-four hours, but dammit, they couldn't properly sail a ship hungover! Archie was walking along the shoreline to get a few crewmates to the ship, at least, when he heard it. That gorgeous  _ beautiful _ voice as though the Heavens parted for Meloetta herself.

The song itself didn't have words to explain how beautiful it truly was, and Archie was helpless to do anything but follow along after it and hope he could hear more. There was a passing thought spared to his crew, but they were all safe in the pub or on the ship. So it was fine for him to explore. It was only when he saw the moonlight gleaming on bright red hair that he was snapped out of the daze and quickly scrambling backwards, but... The mer wasn't even sparing him a glance.

That- That was good, right? That it wasn't looking at him? If the mer hadn't been trying to lure  _ him _ over, though, then who... Another glance showed a young, rowdy looking couple who had to have heard the song from one of the pubs close to the docks. They were both obviously smashed, holding hands as they stumbled towards the water, and Archie watched the creature grin menacingly at the two of them before singing louder, the sound even more sweet. It was only because Archie knew what that thing was that he wasn't enchanted by the song. He was still startled by the way he took a few steps closer before he managed to stop himself and skitter behind a rock. Should... Should he stop this? When he looked, the... The thing looked kinda sick. If it were a human, it'd definitely be sick. Its skin was pale and sallow, its cheeks looking hollowed in-  _ Arceus, _ did that thing have some cheekbones.

Taking another glance to the drunk couple, Archie took in their appearance quickly. Bruises and scratches showed they had probably been in dozens of fights, and there were no visible pokeballs anywhere on them, so, really, why not? Humans like those were the reason the world was so fucked up to begin with. He watched the siren close its mouth, and the song faded into the quiet night, the creature watching the two with a tilted head. The two humans looked dazed, eyes glazed over. Archie wondered what the thing was waiting for. Toying with them, maybe? Just as they began to regain clarity, Archie saw its eyes sharpen and he snarled, launching himself at the girl of the couple. She barely had time to scream.

Thinking on it, Archie should probably be running away, but there was something... Not- Not enchanting like the song had been, but it was- Ah. Thrilling. Curious.  _ Interesting _ . It was interesting to watch this creature attack and 'hunt'. Really, it was probably smart of him to go after her first. If he'd gone after the guy, she might have run off and gotten the whole town on his tail. Literally. Ah, that was why he had paused. Considering which to kill first. It was the same as sizing up for any fight, really. Granted, Archie was more used to fighting trainers and pokemon, especially back in his Team Rocket days. Oh, the guy was fighting back now. Idiot. He should've just run. It... It looked like whatever hits he got in on the siren didn't even  _ bother _ the thing. It just... It killed her. It didn't stop until it was satisfied, then it turned on him.

For as sick and weak as the thing looked, it was ripping bodies apart like they were nothing but paper. Blood and organs spilled onto the sand and Archie watched in... Horror? He was pretty sure there was a bit of horror, but it was like- Like a wreck. A crash. Something so bad he couldn't look away from it. The siren before had  _ looked _ human, but now, its pupils had contracted, it seemed like it had sprung fangs and claws, and they were giant shiny pink  _ fins _ fanned out on either side of its head. There was nothing human about this creature. There was nothing remotely human as it tore into flesh and swallowed down chunks of it with ease. This was a monster from the depths of the ocean he had loved ever since he was a child. This was the villain of the stories he'd been told, that had been handed down from generation to generation. This was what nightmares were made of.

So why the fuck wasn't he running away? Why was he just sitting there and watching as if he knew he wouldn't be hurt? He had threatened the damn thing to stay away from his crew, but had said nothing of himself. He was in danger here. So why wasn't he running. The guy wasn't fighting back anymore and Archie watched bits of  _ flesh _ and splinters of  _ bone _ bob through the waves as the thing seemed to scarf down every piece he could get close to. Hardly even a few minutes passed and already there was nothing human about them anymore, just a pile of bones and clothes and hardly a scrap of flesh in sight. He was beyond grateful the sea breeze was carrying whatever smell there was /away/ from him. "Hungry?"

Startling, Archie blinked and looked to where the mer was staring at him, slowly shaking his head, "I think we eat different things." Okay, he was talking to a creature who had just devoured two human beings. Right. Great. "Unless that's you saying you're still hungry." Which would be bad. The siren shook its head, grinning at him. Its teeth looked normal, but they were blood-stained red. "Right. Good. Glad to give you a lift here then. So, I'll just, uh, go?"

"A… lift?" Right. Knew English, then, but not certain phrases. That was fine. English was hell, in Archie's opinion.

"It basically means that we gave you a ride? You latched onto our ship, right? Yeah. Just- Yeah."

"...Thou be dismissed."

"Th... Thou?" What the fuck? The siren only rose an eyebrow at him. "Where the fuck did you pick up English, the 1600s?"

"I do not understand."

"Okay, so, it's not 'thou be dismissed' or whatever, it should be 'you're dismissed' or something. Wait, why the fuck are you even 'dismissing' me!"

"Thou cannot see for thineself ye are unwanted."

"What?" No, seriously, what the fuck did the thing just say? "Did you just insult me? I think you insulted me. You fucker."

"How darest thee!"

"Hey, you insulted me first!"

"Thy crew be needing its Captain, no, human?"

"Oh? That sounds like a threat." Maybe. It was hard to tell.

"Simply fact. Dismissed."

"Who the fuck gave you the authority to decide what a captain can and can't do?" Okay, so he hated the captain title, but it was working great for him now. The sharp grin he was given made him feel like this siren knew too much and Archie knew far too little. "Just what  _ are _ you!"

"I am siren."

"Yeah, figured that much out, thanks. I mean how can you- Why- You're so  _ human _ ."

The thing just nodded at him. "Yes."

"Why! Why can you speak English! Why are you talking to me instead of just- Just  _ eating _ me!"

"T'was taught. And t'would be rude to eat thine whom fed me." Okay, maybe he was picking this whole language thing up. Sort of? Sort of.

"I didn't feed you. You lured those two idiots here on your own."

"Thou led me to the isle, no?"

"Accidentally. Trust me, I was trying to leave you behind."

"Thy crew was kind to gather a school for me during the journey, as well."

Trying not to insult the giant talking fish again, Archie gave a harsh exhale. "Just stay away from me and my crew and have fun eating everyone on this island." The siren watched him, not answering one way or the other. "Next time we'll use the cannons." With that, Archie was carefully starting to walk away, trying to keep the creature in his sights. The thing didn't seem to care, picking up a nearby bone and scraping bits of meat off as it sucked the marrow.

Okay, just a few more hours and then Archie could get the hell out of here and never come back. He would leave behind this siren, take his crew, sail far away, and continue searching for their dream. Right. Easy.

In the morning, everyone safely abroad and accounted for, Archie grinned. "Alright, let's set sail, mates!" They began to cruise through the waves when their ship seemed to... stutter. The whole thing paused before continuing like nothing happened. No one else seemed to notice it or if they did they passed it off as a rough wave. Suspicious, though, Archie moved around to the railing and no... There would be no reason to follow them. Right?

"Ahoy, Captain! We leave the slimy Eelektrik behind?" Shelly was beaming at him from port side.

"Let's hope," Archie laughed, trying to keep the smile on his face and maybe he was just fearing the worst. Right?

"It feels good," Matt said with a nod. "Felt like there was a dark cloud hanging over the ship."

"Creepy is what it was," Shelly shuddered, acting a bit too dramatic for all her worry to be faked. "I'm glad we won't see it again."

"I never saw it period," Matt laughed. "Probably a good thing. Might make its way into my nightmares."

"Trust me, it will," Archie muttered, remembering last night at the beach. The further away he got, the more he realized just how fucked up it had all been and how he should have been terrified. But that was it. He hadn't been, really at all. He'd just been a bit curious. Weirded out, maybe, but it had all been a bit interesting. Well. He had long ago admitted he was pretty fucked up. "C'mon, let's get the hell away from this place. We have work to do after all, right?" Even as he spoke, he was still scanning the water.

"Aye aye, Captain!"

"On it, Arch!"

" _ Arch? _ "

Feeling his heart stutter out and stop, Archie smiled poorly at the two and waited until they were gone to look down at the water. "My name is Archie, not Arch." There. Red.

"Archie?" The... The siren was staring up at him and frowning. Why was it frowning? Hold on, why had it sounded confused, almost?

"Yeah?" Archie stared back and at least he knew he was safe on deck. Relatively. "Got a problem with my name?"

"It is... small." The siren thought his name was small?

"I mean, yeah? It's a nickname. It's short for my real one."

"You allow it?"

"I encourage it," Archie barked a laugh, quieting down as one of the crew members shot him a strange look. "I don't like my full name. Too pretentious."

The siren stared and just before it dived again, Archie could have sworn he heard it scoff, " _ Humans. _ " Staring for a moment longer, Archie groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. Looked like they would be dealing with this siren for a while longer.


	2. Chapter 2

"Archie? You're staring at the water more than usual."

"Maybe I'm just enjoying the view," Archie replied, a little sullen as he stared at the waves. He knew it was there, but  _ where _ exactly was the question. A flash of red- Ah! The damn thing splashed him!

"Arch, did you let Bruce out again?"

"No, I didn't," Archie growled, glaring down at the water while wiping his face off. "That little fucker."

Shelly placed a hand on his shoulder, frowning over at him. "Archie? What's up?"

"Ah- No, it's nothing. Just a stray pokemon I was watching, I guess." He didn't want to worry them, but that  _ fucker _ .

"Hey-hey!" He heard them start to cheer from the other side of the ship. "This is one of our best hauls!"

"It is?" Archie frowned, quickly going over to check the nets and... Huh. It really was a good haul. Archie didn't trust it. Net was perfectly fine, and there were fish to last a couple weeks in it, all flopping around. Well, that was good, but now he was worried over just what kind of game the giant fish was playing with him. Why leave them so much fish when last time it had just left them the one? Well... Archie supposed he could ask him.

Waiting until people were concerned with the haul more than anything else, Archie went back over to where he had spotted that flash of red. "Hey. Why didn't you eat the fish?"

There was silence for a bit and then- "I did not hunger." Hah, Archie  _ knew _ the thing had followed them. Nice to have confirmation, though.

"Uh huh. How long until you  _ do _ hunger?" The siren only shrugged before beginning to hum- Oh. That was nice. It was- It was content. It was laughing with friends, playing along the shores of the beach, and relaxing in the crow's nest with his crew making a ruckus while he wasn't watching. It was home. It was interrupted by a sharp bark of laughter. He startled, looking up to see the siren grinning at him knowingly. "What's so funny to  _ you _ ?"

"So susceptible." The hell was that supposed to mean? Right, so, Archie got a bit distracted by the songs, but he could always fight out of it when he needed to.

"I can still have the cannons loaded and fired if you want." The thing smirked at him before diving back down out of sight-

" _ Archie? _ " Startling, Archie turned around at Shelly's tone, hand already reaching for his belt and what was going on who was he and his pokemon- Oh, that was a very not good look. Shelly gave the ocean a significant look. "What the fuck did I just watch?"

"That's what I keep asking myself," Archie sighed, moving to tug her over and lower his voice. "Keep it down, okay? I don't want the others worrying when it's not causing trouble."

" _ Not causing trouble? _ It can tip our whole ship, if it wants!" Shelly glanced to the ocean a few more times, but no siren was there to be seen.

"Yeah, but it's not, and that's what weird about it." This siren could tear them all apart, but it was just... It was just following them. "Maybe it's hitching a lift to the next port?"

"Wasn't it doing that for the last port?" Snickering. It was snickering- "Now it's  _ laughing _ at us?!"

"I mean, I wouldn't say laughing." Definitely snickering. "Look, it ate at the last port, I doubt we'll be attacked out here in calm waters when we can easily fight back."

"It  _ ate? _ " He watched her face go pale- Oh. Yeah. That... He was supposed to be horrified and disgusted and all that other stuff. "Arch... Do you mean it-"

"Yes." It was kind of satisfying that Archie wasn't the only one to jerk away. He, at least, didn't scream. Archie couldn't blame Shelly for that reaction, though, seeing as the one who had spoken was the fucking mermaid that was  _ right fucking there under the railing _ . The thing only watched them like some kinda Delcatty or something, all amused and tilting his head.

"Shelly, nod if you can see what I see right now." It felt like some hallucination that would end any moment, but of course, his life had become a bit... Well. Weird was putting it lightly. Shelly nodded beside him, and the siren only gave the two a sharp grin, glancing around the deck cautiously. Archie was ready at any moment to jump forward and push the creature off or grab a pokeball, but it just looked around. Cautious, but  _ curious _ . "How the fuck did you get up here?"

"My arms." Staring, Archie twitched as if to move forward, finally just sighing and oh, Arceus, he was never going to trust the ocean again. ...Well, maybe that was a bit too far.

"That's not what I mean, smartass. Okay,  _ why _ the fuck are you up here?"

"Thou wast speaking of me?"

"That doesn't mean you butt into the conversation! Most people would say that's actually rude!"

"...Humans are so strange." He wasn't leaving. Why wasn't he leaving? "Maximillian."

"Why is it speaking English?" Shelly asked quietly, Archie only staring with wide eyes and he couldn't believe. He couldn't stop himself. He fucking cackled.

"What kind of a shit name is Maximillian!" The siren glared at him and snarled, baring its teeth. Still didn't stop him from laughing.

"I received it upon my birth. Dost thou  _ earn _ such simple names, human?"

"I mean, yeah?" Archie finally stopped his laughter, shrugging. "Others started calling me Archie first and it stuck. Ma still calls me Archibald, though," Archie snorted, shaking his head.

"...Thou play the game of a pauper?"

"Pauper- What?" Okay, that- That made no sense. Archie looked to Shelly because, no, what?

Shelly finally tore her gaze away to look at Archie. "Mama told Matt and me a few stories when we were little. Pauper is peasant- There was one story about a Prince and a Pauper switching places, they looked so alike. The Prince hated all his responsibility, and the Pauper wanted to be free, and rich, and stuff."

"Oh." That... Archie buried his feelings deep, shooting both of them a cocky smile. "I don't think that really applies here, Shells, but thanks for the story anyway." The Prince who hated his responsibility, huh? How fucking appropriate.

Maximillian only frowned, head tilting. "Thou is of the high class, no?"

" _ Archie? _ High class?" Shelly laughed.

"Hey," Archie frowned, crossing his arms. "There's no need to be rude. I am Captain, you know."

"You are a  _ pirate. _ "

"I don't see how that matters," Archie waved off even though he knew it really, really did. "Can we get back to the point of a fucking mermaid hanging off the edge of our ship-"

" _ Siren! _ "

"Archie! Shelly!"

"It's enchanted them!"

"Oh, fuck," Archie sighed, looking to- Looking to 'Maximillian'. "You might wanna get out of here." The moment the words were out of his mouth, the siren released his arms from around the railing, falling back into the water. Others of the crew were rushing over, Archie sighing and right, did he say they were enchanted or try to explain? "Whoa. What just happened?" Explaining took effort.

"Captain! Are you alright?"

"It was luring you!"

" _ Shelly! _ "

"We're fine," Archie sighed, gesturing for Shelly to be quiet as Matt tackled her in a hug. "I think so, anyways. Did that thing really follow us, then?"

"Thought we left it behind." Matt stared down at the ocean, startling when there was laughter behind them. Looking over, Archie frowned as he saw the thing had climbed up the other side of the ship. Dammit.

"Maybe we should just ignore it."

"Oh?" Maximillian was smirking like he thought this was all a game. To him, it probably was.

"Easier said than done, Captain," Shelly said quietly, Archie hiding his frustration at the name and channeling it towards the siren clinging onto his ship.

"Or maybe we should let Bruce deal with it." The siren frowned, tilting his head- Oh. He could have fun with this. "You know what? Bruce would have fun with this." With that, Archie was raising a pokeball and grinning as he clicked it open. "C'mon out, Bruce!" The siren watched the Sharpedo, falling back into the ocean to follow after him. "Kick his ass, Bruce!" This would show that fish.

The crew eagerly rushed to the railing to watch. Bruce was staring at the siren, and Maximillian watched it before scowling and growling. Bruce made a hideous growling noise, teeth bared as he rushed forward and Archie could only groan and  _ great _ . Another pokemon fucking charmed by the fish. The siren near roared at Bruce and... Oh, Arceus. They were cuddling. "This was a horrible decision," Archie mumbled to Shelly and Matt, Bruce purring like a fucking chainsaw as he cuddled closet to the siren as he could get.

"Bruce can purr?" Now the two of them looked like they were playing as they swam together. On a whim, Archie called out Drago, curious to see if- Yeah. Drago was fucking delighted.

"Yeah? Most Sharpedos can, they just only do it when they're really happy." Traitors, both of them. At least Maximillian looked to be enjoying himself. Bastard. And now the show was over as all three of them dove underwater and didn't resurface.

"Your life, Arch," Shelly sighed.

"Tell me about it." Archie finally straightened, looking to the crew members that were still staring. "Hey, who gave you brats break time! We're fucking pirates we don't get a break!" Everyone immediately scrambled into action to busy themselves. Ah, the one good aspect of leadership. Blatantly abusing it. "One good thing about that, then. C'mon, we need to study those books you found, Shells. Map our way to the next port, too."

"Yeah, while your Pokemon keep the new pet entertained-  _ Ah! _ " Blinking at how Shelly was now soaking wet, Archie stared and don't laugh. Your first mate had just been splashed by a siren, Archie, don't- Itw as fucking hilarious. " _ Archie! _ "

"Oh, come on, that was funny," Archie grinned, holding his hands up to fend off an attack even as he choked back more laughter. "You're a pirate, you should be used to getting wet."

"I dunno. You're not." Laughter dying in his throat, Archie stared and made a noise of pure offense.

"I could get laid if I wanted to!"

Shelly's eyebrows shot up, even as she stood there with her hair dripping. "Really."

"Yes!" Hiding his doubt, Archie huffed and turned on his heel. "Dry off and then meet me in the map room. And you! Don't cause anymore fucking trouble to my ship or I'll have Drago eat you!" Children, all of them.

::

Okay, damn thing hadn't tried to sing and lure anyone off the ship yet, so Archie felt relatively safe in taking a nightly swim while most of the crew were asleep. Okay, maybe he'd have Stormy as backup if he got in a pinch, but he should be fine! He just... It had been too long since he had swam in the ocean. "You are unafraid," he heard the moment the water settled around him.

Eyes shooting open, Archie stared at the siren face-to-face in the open ocean, feeling fear settle around him. Except, no, he didn't. He wasn't afraid. Cautious, but why should he be afraid? Interesting, though, that this thing could speak underwater clearly. It swam around him in a circle before stopping in front of him again. "The ocean is your home."

Well, yeah. Archie had grown up in a port town right on the beach. He had loved the ocean so much he had run away to it. At this point, why wouldn't it be his home? What was weird, though, was that Maximillian spoke like this  _ wasn't _ his home. How could it not be? He was half fucking fish. Archie... Honestly, he had dreams when he was little of being a merman. But a cool one. Buff.

Swimming up to the surface to grab a deep breath of air and refill his lungs, Archie immediately dove back underwater and swam as deep as he could go, keeping pace with the ship, but trying to aim down as well. Each time he swam he felt like he saw a little more of the ocean. Maybe one day he would see it all. Maximillian swam alongside him, shooting him curious little looks and frowns. Probably wasn't used to humans that liked to swim so much. Archie wasn't sure there was anyone who liked to swim as much as him.

Still, he didn't argue against the company, only studying the siren in little peeks and glances as he dove downwards before he reached his limit. Damn shame he couldn't  _ see _ as well underwater, but for now, being surrounded on all sides... It was nice. This time when he surfaced, Maximillian followed him, continuing to just silently watch him. "If you're gonna say something, then go ahead and say it," Archie sighed. "Or just eat me. Either way, the staring is creepy."

"I've nothing to say, for the now."

"Sure likes like you've got something to say. Seriously. Call me stupid for swimming when you're in the water or  _ something _ ."

"Simply thinking to myself. Do you truly believe the world to revolve around you?"

"Yes. Absolutely." Trying not to laugh at the expression, Archie shook his head. "You're a lot more human than I first thought, you know." Maxie - Maximillian was too long - scoffed at him, looking horribly offended. "Hey, that's a compliment."

"Certainly not! You humans are weak!"

"Hey! I could kick your ass right now if I wanted to!" At least he had stopped with those fucking thees and thous for now. He only snorted as though Archie wasn't  _ actually _ a threat. Giving a growl of frustration, Archie swam through the waters to catch up to his ship. The winds were calm tonight, meaning he didn't have to work hard to get close again. Maxie swam faster as well before- Oh that was why the ship would periodically stutter. Seemed he would dig his nails into the wood and just... drift.

"Stop damaging my ship," Archie grumbled, knowing full well the bastard could hear him as he swam up to catch on a rope he had thrown down before diving in. "Repairs cost enough as it is." Nothing. Not even a splash. He wondered if mer slept. Deciding he'd think about it tomorrow, Archie grabbed the rope and began to heave himself up, pausing and there was  _ one _ thing he needed to ask. "Do I need to worry about you stealing from our fishing nets again?"

"Only if I hunger." Right. And he should still be doing pretty good off the last port. Relishing in the water lapping against his skin for a moment more, Archie began to pull himself up.

"Give us a heads up when you start to 'hunger.'" Right. Pet siren. Of course. That was his life, wasn't it? Ah, well. May as well try for a couple hours sleep- Oh. There was whistling again. Sleep... Sleep sounded like a  _ great _ idea. Just for a few... Just a few minutes...

::

Archie awoke to the sounds of cursing and hollering outside his room. Rolling out of bed, Archie yelped as he hit the floor before scrambling for the door and okay, it was day time, right. magical singing fish, great, what the fuck was going on now? "Shelly! What's going on!"

"The fish stole our fish again!" Ooh, that was going to get confusing real quick, wasn't it? Dammit, they needed a better- Fuck.  _ Fuck _ .

"He what!" 'Only if I hunger'- Ugh. Ugh!

Matt was already at the railing. "Should I get the cannons and harpoons ready?"

"Bit excessive, but we'll keep the option open," Archie sighed, patting at Matt's chest. "Was there any fish left in the nets, Shells?"

"I dunno, a couple? Enough to last a meal." Shelly gestured to the net. "We only threw down the one, but by now they've probably scattered."

"Damn." At least it wasn't the one single fish, Archie mused. Fuck, alright, time to be captain. Somehow. "Okay, I'll tell the cooks to switch to three-quarter rations. We're still pretty stocked up and we should be good until we get to the next port. As for money... We'll figure out something." Somehow.

"I hate suggesting it, but... There's always the ole loot and pillage option," she pointed out to him.

"Yeah, we'll have to be careful for the next few weeks, though," Archie sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I could give less of a shit about the people, but looting and pillaging puts this lot in danger."

"Yeah... You're right about that. Think we can sic' the fish on 'em," she asked with a bright grin. Ready to reprimand her, Archie paused and, huh. Not a bad idea.

"Maybe. I'll think about it, at least." Shelly looked back to the net, shaking her head.

"I don't like it. There's no way it can go through that many fish."

"It wouldn't attack the nets just to spite us, not when it seemed fine just yesterday," Archie pointed out, crossing his arms and staring over the railing, fingers tapping against his arm. "Two humans only last him a few days, then. Maybe he has to eat more fish to get the same amount of energy a human would give."

"Arch," Shelly said with disgust all over her face. "Did you watch?" Oh, wow, yeah, didn't feel like there was a safe answer to that question.

"I'll go get the maps out."

She stuck her tongue out. "Whatever gets you off, Archie. Just... keep it to yourself. Arceus," he heard her as she walked away. "A literal ocean fucker."

"How the fuck do you get me wanting to fuck him out of me  _ accidentally _ watching him eat people! What the fuck!" He did not- He couldn't- Shelly used to be so much  _ nicer _ .

"You never said it was an accident!"

"Shut up! It's not like I set out to watch a siren eat people!"

"Did you not enjoy it?" Definitely not screaming, Archie spun around to see that Maxie was clinging to the railing again, just out of sight and only loud enough for Archie to hear, who had stayed behind as other crew members had dragged the few fish left aboard.

"I'm not answering that." Maxie gave him a sharp grin, licking his lips while he was at it. "Fuck off. You've eaten plenty, I think. Seriously, did you have to eat so many fish?"

"Yes," he simply said. "Do you not feed when you hunger?"

"A warning would have been nice," Archie glared, and yeah, looked like they really would be raiding the next town. "How many people can you charm at once?"

Maxie only shrugged. "Many."

"An entire town's worth?"

"I… could attempt," he said softly, though he looked...unsure? That was the most human Archie had seen him act yet. It was... It was interesting.

"You don't need to keep their attention for long, just lead them to the other end of the island when we dock and then swim back around. We can knock a few people unconscious for you on the shore so you can eat them instead of going up against a bunch of people in a fight, too."

Maxie watched him for a moment before nodding. "Very well."

"That's it?" Oh. Archie thought that would've taken way longer to convince him to do this.

"Food."

"Alright." Definitely remember that for the future. "So, uh, yeah. We should get there in three or four days if we make good speed. Do I have to worry about anymore fish going missing in that time?"

Maxie seemed to take time to actually think about it before finally shaking his head. "No." That was something, then. Taking a ragged breath in, Archie pulled and tugged at his bandana and Arceus. He was talking to a siren that hardly a week or two ago wanted to  _ eat _ him. Why the fuck was he so comfortable with this? A sound had Arceus frowning and looking around for the source. It sounded like when one of his Pokemon was purring, actually.

It took a few seconds before he slowly looked over to Maxie, the siren still watching him and... "Are you purring?" How the-  _ Why _ the- Fuck. Arceus fuck what trash romance book of Shelly's had his life become? Maxie startled and seemed to look down at himself with a frown.

"No?" The sound had stopped when he had spoken, though, so he had definitely been purring.

"No wonder you and Bruce get along so well," Archie sighed, unable to stop as mile at the confused little look. "My Sharpedo you met the other day."

"Ah. The small one." Well... Compared to Drago, he wasn't really  _ wrong. _

"Yeah, he's one of my smallest, actually." Misty was a fair bit bigger, but Bruce was tied with Bubbles really. "Do you- Uh, do you want to meet my other pokemon?" Maxie frowned, tilting his head at Archie. "I mean, you've met Drago and Bruce, so I thought you might like to meet the others, or something."

"You carry them all with you? In what capacity?" Oh, Archie supposed sirens wouldn't know about pokeballs. Taking one out, Archie carefully walked closer, holding the ball out towards him.

"These. Some genius made them, but basically they can contain pokemon safely." Maxie carefully took the ball, remaining balanced as he examined it.

"...I do not understand." Fuck. That was kind of cute.

"Yeah, I don't really, either. I just roll with it." Reaching over, Archie pressed the button while Maxie still held it, pointing it down towards the ocean surface. "Meet Mist." Mist gave a cheery call as she landed in the water, looking like she was smiling. Maxie tilted back until he was falling back into the water to properly greet Mist. While the Lapras looked surprised for a brief moment, she warmed up to the siren quickly, trilling a short little song and flapping her fins. Archie had a feeling the two would like each other. Maxie was immediately  _ beaming, _ singing back to her- Oh no.

The song hit and... Fun. It sounded  _ fun _ . Archie was already grinning and hopping onto the rail, just taking the time to kick his shoes off before he was diving underwater, half laughing before he took a breath right before hitting the water. A few splashes sounded around him, and he felt disappointment grow in him when he realized the song had stopped. A look over to Maxie, and the siren looked... Archie wasn't sure how to describe it. Definitely not pleased at having lured him and half his crew into the ocean.

Taking a few moments to relax underwater while others surfaced and panicked, Archie finally gave a grin to Maxie, making sure it was as wide as possible. It was actually kind of funny, really. "My… apologies." Swimming closer, Archie surfaced, laughing as Mist nudged against him.

"About what? I mean, it was pretty obvious it was an accident, right?"

"Your underlings will not believe this to be so."

"You'd be surprised," Archie snorted. Any person crazy enough to seek Kyogre had to be pretty willing to believe in things like a siren's accidental song. "Trust me, as long as no one gets attacked, then the others will get a laugh out of it." Maxie still didn't seem to believe him... They really didn't know all that much about each other, did they? "Look, I won't lie, we're still freaked out by you. I mean, you eat humans, so it kind of makes sense for us to be scared, but, uh, I guess we can try not to be scared? Okay, well, no, I mean we can try to listen- That'd actually be worse, probably, uh- Fuck, I'm fucking this all up, aren't I?"

Archie was confused when he heard laughter, but it blew his fucking mind it was  _ Maxie _ that looked to be chuckling quietly. "A small amount, yes." He... He sounded good when he laughed. He didn't seem so terrifying anymore.

"Sorry. I guess just why don't we try to work together for as long as you stick around. Help each other out? We give you a lift to ports, you do your thing, and sometimes you can help us get what we need."

"...Very well. This sounds... mutually beneficial." Staring for a long moment, Archie finally scrunched up his nose, re-settling even as Mist moved so she was now carrying him along towards the ship.

"What the fuck did you even just say?"

"Mutually beneficial," he repeated. "It... It is both of us for good." Maxie glanced to the ship and Maxie watched as he swam to keep pace.

"Good for both of us, you mean?" Archie settled down, watching him for a moment and wait. Eating so much because- "Are you always swimming? Like are you always burning energy because you're swimming?"

"Not always. When I tire, I hold the ship." That still seemed like a lot of swimming.

"Is that why you eat so much?" Maxie nodded. When Archie thought about it, he burned energy even staying in one place. "Guess it makes sense. You know, Mist can carry you too, if you want. She seems to enjoy it." At the suggestion, Mist gave a soft croon, swimming closer to Maxie. Maxie's nose wrinkled, and he looked to Mist cautiously.

"...How?" Laughing, Archie tucked his feet up and settled more on Mist's back.

"You can either climb up here with me, grab her fin, or just hold on to her shell. She can carry quite a bit of weight, can't you girl?" Mist trilled, turning back to butt against him again. Archie watched as Maxie carefully reached out to hold her shell, still looking like she might attack him any minute. Mist only made sure he was holding on tightly before heading back towards the ship, Archie watching Maxie slowly start to relax. "Feels kind of nice to just be pulled through the water, huh?"

"It is no different than holding the ship."

"It's a simple yes or no question."

"Twas hardly a question at all."

"Okay, that. If we're going to be under a truce, I at least want to know where you learned to speak English- Actually, I want to know that and how old you are." Because Maxie looked his age, but he spoke ike he was  _ ancient _ .

"I was taught by my mother. I am only two hundred and eighty one moons old."

"Oh." Archie stared and narrowed his eyes. "You're not even a year old?" Moons meant days, probably, right?

Maxie frowned further. "Full moons."

"Oh. So, uh, hold on." Doing the math in his head, Archie finally shook it off. "Around twenty, then."

"I do not know your human measurement."

"Yeah, well, I don't know yours really well. Twenty is around the age of a young adult, so, uh, fully grown, but just barely, I guess. I'm twenty-three, so I'm still kinda young myself." Maxie shook his head as he watched Archie.

"Humans are so strange."

"How do you think we feel about you guys?" Archie raised an eyebrow, waving up at the ship when he saw Shelly and a few others looking down at him in panic. "I made a truce with 'im!"

"I am no pet," Maxie said beside him, but... He sounded serious.

"I didn't say you were?" Oh, he had probably overheard Shelly earlier. "Shelly's- Well, she's Shelly, but I think the last thing you are is a pet. Trust me."

"You did not correct her," he pointed out.

"I've given up on trying to win a fight against her," Archie laughed, and he was laughing with a siren. RIght. His life had just gotten weird again. "I don't think anyone can keep her in line."

"You are their leader," Maxie said, as though reciting something long ago memorized. "They look to you for guidance and direction." Now  _ that _ had Archie cracking with laughter.

"Are you kidding! They never stop fighting me on just about everything! If they ever listen to me it's because they decide it's what they want to do, too!"

"Perhaps. I suspect that to only be an act. A play put on by the paupers."

"A- What?" Archie was never going to understand this fish the way things were going. "Seriously, you speak as proper as a fucking noble or something." That... He flinched. Maxie flinched, looking almost pained by archie's words. "Whoa, hey, uh, sorry? I mean, I'm sure your mom is great at teaching you English? It's just outdated, really." That was weird. That was really weird.

"Obviously," he grumbled quietly. There was a moment's silence before Archie heard clicking and chattering. It took a moment to work out, but he was pretty sure Maxie was still speaking, just not in any language he knew. It was kind of cool. Archie tried to strain his hearing, attempting to pick up as much as he could. No way would he get any words, but Maxie seemed... frustrated? Exasperated? Some other ated? He couldn't quite tell, but the siren was definitely muttering to himself.

"You wanna keep swimming for a while?" Archie asked Mist quietly, noticing that Shelly was still keeping a careful watch on him. He was going to get yelled at later, for sure. Mist bumped him gently with a chirp, seeming thrilled at the mere mention of swimming. "Alright, alright," Archie laughed, settling down further. "I'll make sure to feed you the really good food after this, too." That had her pleased as anything, swimming a couple little circles. Archie looked back to Maxie to see the siren was... smiling at her. "So, uh, you like Pokemon, then?"

"I do not dislike them. They are useful." Frowning, Archie wiggled down to kick some water in Maxie's face.

"Hey, they're not 'useful,' they're friends. Typical  _ humans _ think they're 'useful'."

Maxie blinked, startled. "My pod," he explained. "They are... useful," he repeated again, but didn't elaborate further... He was hiding something.

"Pod. That'd be like your family, then, right? Your parents and siblings and all that?" Maxie gave him a nod. Okay. That was... not very much information. "What do you mean they're 'useful'?"

"My pod, and others, used them as gatherers, builders, or hunters."

"Better than just using them to fight with, I guess," Archie hummed, rubbing at Mist's neck. "So you work with them."

"Yes." Huh, that wasn't too bad.

"So there's more siren than just you out there, right? I mean, we all know stories, but I didn't think any of you were  _ real _ , you know?"

Maxie scoffed at him. "Of course. I am not so unique."

"Dunno, you seem pretty amazing to me." Maxie rose an eyebrow at him, obviously disbelieving. Jeez, how had he grown up? "Right. Just feel free to latch onto the ship when you need it, I guess." Their next stop would be interesting at least.


	3. Chapter 3

"Of all the ports we find it had to be one with a fucking large city," Archie groaned, rubbing at his eyes. "There's at least two hundred people just around the shore."

"Aw, jeez, Arch... Think the fish can do it?"

"Dunno. Maybe instead of luring them all to the other side of the island it can just be a few miles away? We can't attract the attention of the whole town, but we should be able to get what we need from the first few rows of shops."

Shelly looked over the map and nodded. "Right. We land here, and the fish should bring everyone he can over..." She pointed a few miles down the coast of the island. "There."

"Seems like it should work," Archie nodded. "We would need to get in and out fast, and I'm sure there's people who won't be affected by the song, or will break it's grip. If I manged to then I"m sure others can."

"How'd you do that, anyway, Arch?" Shelly was staring up at him, Matt much the same.

"Felt like if I stopped listening, I'd die."

"Dunno," Archie frowned,s hrugging and leaning against the back of the ship's railing. "I wanted to listen forever, but I realized you all were in danger. So I stopped listening."

Shelly huffed, crossing her arms. "You make it sound so easy."

"I didn't have a choice." It had been that song or the life of his family. Not really a hard pick. "Although, I kinda broke out of it at that last port." He had followed the song and then saw Maxie luring two other humans and had just sat and watched. That... He still was kinda weirded out that it  _ didn't _ make him freak out. Maxie  _ ate two people. _ But... But for him, it seemed like it was a life or death. No matter how many fish he ate, he never looked as good as he had in the couple days after that port. Besides, it was just two people. Two punks who looked like they constantly made bad choices and didn't give a shit what happened to them. Why should he bother to care?

A soft cough startled Archie out of his thoughts and had him looking around. It took a moment for him to look just under the railing, blinking at seeing Maxie clinging on to the side of the ship, "You know, my crew won't kill you on sight."

"Agree to disagree." Fair enough. Turning around, Archie leaned on the railing so he could talk to him better.

"We have a rough plan. Happen to hear any of it?"

Maxie gave a nod, glancing behind Archie and ducking further. "Yes. Everything."

"Think you can do it, then? Like I said, you don't have to fight, just give us the time we need to get what we need and get out of there." Looking away, Maxie finally nodded.

"Yes." Alright. Unsure yes, but a yes.

"How long do you think you can sing before you need to stop?" That had Maxie snorting.

"I could go from the sunrise to sunhigh. Would be difficult and slightly past limitations, but could."

"Alright, don't need to worry about that, then." Damn, that was kind of impressive. Glancing back to where his first mates were watching him, Archie lowered his voice. "I can knock some people out on our way out, you can drag him off to the other side of the island to eat and we can pick you up that way if you want."

"I would be...appreciative." Arceus... He acted like they really  _ were _ going to gut him any second. Unable to help himself, Archie leaned over and tousled Maxie's hair like he might one of his little siblings.

"Don't worry, everything will go fine."

"Perhaps. My singing is...not so strong. My sister, she is stronger."

"Yeah, but you managed to charm my entire crew," Archie laughed, hoping his smile put the siren a little at ease. Honestly, it would be  _ fine _ . "We usually aren't that easy to sway."

"Twas-" Maxie winced. " _ It _ was not so hard."

"There you go." Trying to taper off his laughter, Archie gave another ruffle to his hair and it... Maxie's hair was  _ soft _ . "Don't worry, we won't let you get hurt."

"Why?" Maxie was looking up at him with all the caution of a pokemon that'd been hurt before. "Why do you care?"

"Well..." Thinking on it, why  _ did _ he care? "The ocean is your home, isn't it?" Ah, that was it. Because it was the same as to why he was going to such stupid lengths to protect the water pokemon, too. It was the same answer all the time. "It's my home, too." Maxie watched him for a moment before he was leaning up- Oh. He was pressing his face into Archie's hand. That- That should be weird, right? Feeling Maxie's nose pressed right up against his hand should be- Oh! Wait! That was like a trust thing! Bruce did it after Archie finally bonded with him! "'S okay. I'll keep you safe."

Maxie pulled away slowly, watching Archie with wide, shining eyes like the brightest of fires before he was falling back into the ocean. " _ Ahem. _ " Startling and  _ not _ squeaking, yelping, or doing anything unmanly, Archie turned around as relaxed as he could. "New pet fish?"

"He's not a pet," Archie scolded, shrugging it off like he would a splash of water. "Just reassuring him. He's not so bad once you get past the whole man-eating thing."

"Yeah. Sorry, Arch. Kinda hard to get past the whole wants to eat us thing."

"He doesn't want to eat us." Anymore. "Just give him a chance."

"I'm not giving him one. I'm giving you one."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Because that very much sounded like a threat.

"I mean I trust you, but I don't trust that thing as far as I can throw ‘im."

"That's okay." Archie grabbed Shelly into a quick hug, giving her a wild grin. "Just keep trusting me, then. I won't let you get hurt." He'd protect all of them - even if it was from each other.

A few hours later, after sailing and docking at the far end of the dock for a quick escape, Archie was making sure the crew was briefed on what they needed to do. Keep their earplugs in, get what they needed from the list they were given, and get the fuck out. He saw Maxie beginning to swim over to the shore, though the siren gave him more than one apprehensive backwards glance as he got closer to land.

"This is going to be cutting it close," Archie sighed, snagging a pokeball and releasing Drago under the waves, raising his voice just enough to be heard. "Keep him safe, Drago." Drago gave a sharp cry, immediately swimming after him.

Archie watched Maxie stop near the shore and the moment the plank was set down, Maxie started to sing louder than Archie had heard before. It would be scarily easy to get wrapped up in that song and let himself be lost within Maxie's singing, but, well. They did have work to do. Still, Archie kept a careful eye as the townsfolk started wandering down towards the shore, his crew hurrying to get into town and grab what they needed.

Maxie began to swim away from the town, still singing. Like a lighthouse. He was... Oh boy that was a lot of people. Had he really managed to attract  _ all _ of these people? It... It was incredible. It was really,  _ really _ incredible. And they were all following him like Horseas to a Lanturn. Right, this was one of the largest ports in a while and they had a museum on the history of the ocean right by the port. A quick check for anything Kyogre-related, a stop by that lovely silver shop he had seen, and then grabbing whatever else they could use.

Going through the city, it was like a ghost town. No one around anywhere. Was Maxie's song really that strong? And his sister was supposed to be even stronger? Fuck, Archie could only imagine running up against sirens like  _ those _ . Right, focus. He still needed to get Maxie fed. He was starting to look pale again, and a bit too skinny for Archie's liking. He wondered how many Maxie would eat before he was full. He had eaten two no problem. Was there a limit? Maybe the museum would have something on sirens, too. Port towns would be the best to try to learn about them.

"Hey, Captain! Check this out!" Pausing, Archie groaned and doubled back over to where he was being called and this had  _ better _ be important. They were on a time crunch! Archie rushed over and gasped. All sorts of abandoned pokeballs, and a few Pokemon, but he was more shocked at the two laying on the ground in the middle of a wide ring.

"A fucking pokemon fighting ring." Of all the fucking- Archie rushed over to the Keldeo and Granbull collapsed in the middle of the ring, checking them over quickly and feeling a stab of pain as the Granbull growled and tried to get back up to keep fighting. "Hey, hey, easy, it's over now, okay? No more fighting." Unless... "Unless you want to fight the ones who  _ really _ did this to you." The Keldeo was a bit too far gone for Archie's words to really get through, but the Granbull seemed to understand.

"Arch," Matt said behind him. "Bad idea."

"He's right. Sending them over there with the fish getting stirred up into a frenzy?"

"Maxie won't hurt pokemon," Archie frowned, watching the Granbull stumble to his feet, worn and exhausted. "You might have a point about it being a bad idea, though. Hey, fighter, you want to be free? Or do you want to make humans suffer for what they've done to you and your friends?"

The Granbull tried to growl and run off after them, but only made it about three steps before collapsing. Jeez, none of these guys were in much of a human suffering kinda shape. Archie placed a hand on the pokemon's brow, pressing softly, "Easy, fighter. Healing's a part of the whole battle thing, too. So, want us to drop you off somewhere on the island? Fight them on your own when you get better?" Glancing back to Shelly and Matt, he watched Matt pick up a few other Pokemon gently in his arms while Shelly opened up her bag and began to scoop the pokeballs in.

"Big city. Gotta be a center nearby." For something like this? No doubt.

"Get them there and make sure to leave a note or fucking something about what went down. I'm going to make sure they won't be using this place as a fighting ring for much longer."

"On it, Captain." Waiting until they were gone, Archie stood up and looked around the hastily constructed arena, and fuck, none of his pokemon would be good for this. Water types. Right. Looked like he would be tearing this fucking place down by himself.

And oh, he made sure to tear it down. His crew could handle getting what they needed. It was shit likes this that had him wanting to awaken Kyogre in the first place. People didn't give a shit about Pokemon. Only themselves. Pokemon were their  _ friends _ , they loved their trainers fiercely and showed kindness to those who showed kindness to them. And what did humans do? They fucking captured them and made them fight for fame and money. He hated them. He hated humans. "C'mon, fighter, let's get you out of here, too."

He carried the poor Granbull all the way to the Pokemon Center but when he tried to set her - cause of course she was she with that temperament - down, she only started to kick up a fuss. "Whoa, whoa, hey, you need to be taken care of and this is the best place to do it." Archie carefully picked her back up, watching her reaction to that. In his arms she immediately relaxed. Jeez... She was small, too, for a Granbull. Poor thing. Making like he was going to put her down, Archie snorted as she growled. "Alright, alright. Okay... Yeah, you're too much of a fighter to just sit back and let others handle things, huh?" Maybe... Looking to his belt, Archie pulled out a pokeball that was empty, holding it in front of the Granbull. "Feel like trusting a lowly human one more time?"

He smiled when the Granbull only cuddled closer to him, though she did seem a bit wary of the pokeball. "Arch, hey. We probably don't have much time left."

"Fuck, yeah, I know," Archie sighed, hugging the pokemon just as close. "I'll let you out as soon as we're on my ship, okay? I promise." He gently bumped the open pokeball against her head, smiling as she disappeared inside it. The pokeball squirmed once, twice, three-  _ Click. _ "Alright then, fighter, let's get this taken care of."

Archie managed to ransack the museum in only half an hour, stealing every book and scrap of information and maps he could. He did take ten minutes to loot through the silver shop - he found quite a few nice things - before running back to the ship. As soon as he counted his crew, only six left to come back, he looked towards Maxie. He could hear Maxie was starting to get a bit worn out, but when he glanced over and saw Archie the song grew stronger and people were stumbling into the water to their waists. Archie gave a quick signal to show they were almost done, dropping his things in the map room before scrambling back out.

"Matt, Shelly, get this ship ready to move!" Okay, now he just had to make sure Maxie would be able to escape and still have a meal- Oh. Grabbing a fishing net, Archie gave a sharp whistle for Drago. "Feel like toting a couple humans through the water for me?" Drago seemed confused, head tilting as he looked towards the crew - Fuck. Fuck, Maxie was starting to get distracted. Archie could see his teeth lengthening into fangs, the fins on the side of his head slowly fanning out. "Matt, get the ones who aren't back here now and then set sail. I'll catch up."

Stepping onto the railing, Archie tossed the net down before diving in after it and oh, Shelly was so going to yell at him for this later. "Drago, get me over to Maxie!" Drago cried out loudly and scooped Archie onto his neck before swiftly swimming through the sea. Maxie's eyes were starting to dart around and the song was starting to stutter. Swearing under his breath, Archie adjusted the net he had just had time to grab, nudging at Drago's neck. "Take this and capture the humans that are in the water, at least two of them, maybe three, okay? Keep them underwater and drag them after us." With that, Archie made sure Drago took the net before he was letting go and swimming righter over to Maxie.

Maxie seemed startled at seeing Archie so close, the song pausing before he quickly tried to ensnare them all again, looking away from Archie. Placing a hand against his back, Archie spoke quietly, "We're almost ready to go. As soon as the ship starts pulling out I want you to dive underwater and swim after Drago. He has your 'lunch' waiting." Just like that, Maxie looked like a fully fledged creature of the deeps, fins, fangs, and all. His singing was starting to border on screeching, too. Fuck, Archie could see some of the people starting to stumble out of it - they were still ensared, but it didn't look like for much longer. "C'mon, Maxie, focus, this isn't going to work if you let yourself lose it here."

Just a few more minutes, that was all they needed, but at this rate, Maxie would only last a few more seconds. This wasn't good, but at least it wasn't getting worse. Maybe listening to Archie's voice was keeping him focused? "C'mon, just a few more minutes, Matt's rounding up the last of the crew. Hey, we got everything we needed and more. Even broke up a pokemon fighting ring. You're gonna like the Granbull- That's a fairy type pokemon. I'll teach you more later, if you want, you probably only know the water types- Fuck, your singing is amazing- Focus. Sorry, you just- Fuck." Hearing a bell, Archie turned to see the ship starting to sail out. He only caught a glimpse, however, because after that, his vision was obscured by water splashing around - He was being pulled. Archie just barely had time to suck in a breath of air before he was being pulled underwater and fuck, he thought Maxie was fast  _ before _ then that was nothing compared to his.

It took just about no time for Maxie to catch up to Drago, immediately tearing into the net. He wasted no time on trying to sing for these people. With the way they were already half-drowned underwater, they didn't put up much of a fight, Maxie easily tearing into them and turning the waters red. Archie couldn't bring himself to surface, only watching with wide eyes. He had seen Maxie go 'feral' before, but this seemed to be on a whole different level.

This definitely better fit the term 'frenzy.' He didn't seem to be thinking about anything other than food, letting only his most basic instincts guide him. He was... kind of gorgeous, in it all. Kind of. In a way. Fuck, Shelly was going to tear him a new one for sticking so close to a siren in a feeding frenzy, but Archie couldn't just  _ leave _ . He had promised to look out for Maxie and he was damn well going to- Fuck, Areceus, if eh didn't fucking drown first fucking need to breathe. He surfaced quickly, gasping for breath as his lungs burned. He could still see Maxie pretty well from the surface, though.

Drago was able to drag the two along  after the ship, and Archie watched Maxie finally start to slow down. Jeez, how much did he need to eat - Oh. Maxie had surfaced and was now holding archie's face in his claw tipped hands. Instead of being scared, like a fucking sane person, Archie only stared at him and gave a quiet hum, "Eat enough?" Arceus, he couldn't even feel a bit of fear. Maybe he was the weird one.

He watched Maxie slowly calm down, coming back to himself as his fins lay flat again. The siren quickly let go, beginning to chatter and croon and click in that strange language. Archie blinked, having no idea what he was saying and finally hazarding a quiet, "'S alright. Felt nice." Felt nice. It  _ felt nice _ . Fucking hell, he was a mess.

"...Yes," Maxie said quietly, wiping at his mouth. "I ate well enough."

"Good- Great. That's good. Sorry if you had to rush through it or anything, but this was the safest bet." Maxie gave him a small nod, looking... He looked like he was ashamed, but that couldn't be right. He was a siren. He couldn't be ashamed for  _ eating. _ "Right, well, thanks to you we rescued a bunch of Pokemon from a fighting ring. So there's another amazing thing you've done."

"You would have done so anyway. Far too sacrificing." Well, Archie couldn't really fight against that accusation, especially when he had a hurt and sleeping pokemon attached to his belt, now.

"I need to go back up to the ship. You gonna be alright down here?" Maybe they should make it so Maxie could latch onto the ship without having to actually tear holes into it with those claws. A net, maybe?

"Yes," Maxie confirmed with a nod before diving below the water. Archie snorted, patting at Drago's neck.

"He's a strange one, huh? C'mon, Drago, let's get you fed, too. You did a great job today, you know." Drago gave a chirp, and almost a purr as he leaned back into Archie. Laughing, Archie gave him one more good scratch before standing up on his back and grabbing hold of the rope ladder that had been tossed down over the side. "If we have to go back for anyone then I'm gonna be pissed! Shelly, give me a count!"

"Everyone's on, Captain! We're all good to go!" Thank fuck.

Scrambling up, Archie looked around the ship. "Sweetie in the infirmary?" Hopefully she had some spray for his new Granbull.

"Yeah," Shelly told him with a frown. "You hurt? Fish get ya?"

"No, a Granbull from that fighting ring decided to stick with me, I want to get her checked out."

"Oh." Shelly finally nodded, glancing down to his belt. "You gonna  _ actually _ keep 'er?"

"Why not? She's a fighter, after all," Archie grinned, heading into the ship. "Make sure we got everything, Shells, I'll talk to ya later."

"Alright, fine, Archie. Take care of her."

"Of course." This was a good time for him to calm down from all the excitement, too. If he kept throwing himself into things then he'd probably cause some other ship-wide diasterlike the one that got him thrown overboard for two hours. "Hey, Sweetie. You in here?"

"Hey there, Cap'n! That was the best raid yet! Looks like you're my only patient! So, whatcha in for? Lacerations? Asphyxiation? Other -ations?"

"None of the above," Archie chuckled, and, really, this kid was adorable. "For once. I have a different patient for you." Taking the pokeball out, Archie gently released Granbull onto the bed. "Busted up a pokemon fighting ring. This one wants to stick around."

"Oh! Well hey there, sweet thing!" Sweetie immediately began to get bandages, sprays, and Poke Puffs together. "Looks like our brave Cap'n got to you in the nick o' time!"

"I don't know about that." Archie sat next to the pokemon, carefully and slowly rubbing at her head. "She did pretty good fighting on her own."

"That's not much of a surprise. Alright, sweetheart. You go ahead and eat those Poke Puffs, I'm gonna use this spray on you to help you get your health up!" The Granbull - he needed a name for her - nodded and started munching on the puffs, keeping close to Archie and watching Sweetie very warily.

"'S okay, fighter, she's about as dangerous as a caterpie."

"Fighter? Not your usual naming style, Captain."

"Ah, no, it-" Actually, that did fit her kind of well, didn't it? Glancing back down to her, Archie gave a rumbling laugh as he gently hugged the pokemon close. "It's not, is it? It fits perfectly for her, though."

"Hey, watch it! Trying to work, here!"

"I'm offering her comfort!"

"Hang on! One two three, and done!"

"Seriously?" That was fast even for Sweetie."This si why we can't live without you, Sweetie."

Sweetie laughed, gently petting Fighter. "Yeah. I know." Fighter settled at the touch, leaning back into Archie and making a please noise that was like a rumbling growl. It was adorable. "She's gonna be good for you. I can tell. She's  _ darling. _ "

"Yeah, no trying to steal her from me, I know you like fairy types." Archie hugged Fighter close one more time before loosening his grip, setting her on the bed as he stood up. "Alright, I'll let her rest here. I gotta talk to Shelly about how everything went." This time, Fighter didn't throw much of a fit when he felt, only relaxing further on the bed.

"Don't worry, Captain. I've got her from here." Nodding, Archie spared her one last past before heading back out towards the deck, thoughts turning back to Maxie and his strange behavior as they got back to the ship. Really, Archie would have expected the siren to be a lot more... A lot less timid. Maybe timid wasn't the right word, but he seemed ready to deal with any mess-ups. Maybe it was more accurate to say he acted like anything that went wrong was his fault. Maybe it came from having siblings? He mentioned having a sister, at least. But... If he had siblings, then why hadn't they seen any others? Arceus, why hadn't they ever seen a siren before the Spades?

Maybe they lived in isolated areas and they just got unlucky when it came to finding Maxie? The stories were everywhere, but no one ever had proof. Was it possible sirens were going extinct just like pokemon? Well... If they were, at least they managed to save one. Maxie was probably better off with them. If most people knew to avoid the Spades, he probably didn't eat often. Now that he was traveling with them, he'd be much better fed, as well as much safer. It was something that worked out well for both of them. Siren, Archie was beginning to see, had lots of tricks up their sleeves.

::

It had been a few days since the raid on the port town and Archie finally kicked his shoes off and admitted defeat during his night watch shift. Not only did he need to swim, but he had a few questions for Maxie. Nearly the second he was in the water, Maxie was in front of him, seeming to try to puzzle him out without either of them speaking a word. Archie stared back for a moment, taking the time to notice that Maxie still looked rather well fed, before he was swimming along after the ship. Maxie easily swam beside him, still watching him with a tilted head. Heh, he was kinda like a pokemon, with those cute little quirks like that.

It was fun to just swim next to him like this - relaxing. When he was underwater he was no one but himself. No Captain, no crew to look out for, just him and an ocean that went on forever. Would soon go on forever. Seeing movement out of the corner of his eyes, he glanced over to see the fins on the side of Maxie's head were spread out and seemed to be flicking and twitching, the siren frowning and looking around. Archie doubled back, staying as still as possible and letting the currents float him along as he watched Maxie. He seemed to be listening- Tracking? Something was up. Maxie looked over to him and nodded. "Fish school." Fish school? What- Oh!

Nodding, Archie swam to the surface, sucking in air before grabbing the rope and scrambling up it. Who would be least likely to kill him for waking them up this late... Matt. He would start with Matt and go from there. "Huh... Arch? Bro, wassup? 'Nother nightmare?"

"No, Maxie found a school of fish for us. Wake up."

"Found a...huh?" Matt rose with a yawn, clambouring out of bed.

"We're going fishing, wake up a few others."

"Alright... Ash. Nick, Get... Get..."

"Aw, tired still?" Archie flipped over Matt's hammock, nodding as he hit the floor. "There we go. Hey, Ash, Nick! We got some fishing to do!" For emphasis, Archie took his shirt off and squeezed the water out over their heads.

" _ Ah! _ "

"Come on, Arch, what gives?!" Hey, they were awake! That was great!

"Fishing time! Get up and come help me with the nets."

Hearing a soft, quiet song from outside the porthole, Archie couldn't help a smile. It looked like Maxie was helping them in return for being helped at the port. Well, Archie wouldn't be against that. When he got topside, there was a sharp, high whistle that had him looking over. Maxie waved an arm before pointing... Ah. Pretty decent haul. "Nice work, Maxie," Archie beamed down at the siren, calling over his shoulder. "Matt, with me, Ash and Nick, get over to the other side. C'mon, boys, time to stock up and make our cooks happy!" Maxie quickly swam to the opposite side of the ship, avoiding any possibility of getting his fins caught in the net as well.

It didn't take long for them to get the fish caught up and reeled in, Archie making sure every last one was on board and the three were getting them into ice boxes before he was grinning and diving back into the water. Maxie frowned at him, head tilting. "Will you not feed?" Waiting until they surfaced, Archie shook his head.

"In the morning. We eat at certain times of the day, typically morning, afternoon, and evening. Some just eat whenever they're hungry, though. It differs."

"...Humans," Maxie scoffed, shaking his head.

"Yeah." That was as good an opening as any. "What do you know about Kyogre?"

That had the siren drawing back. "The great wave maker and ocean rider?"

"I'm gonna go with yeah, that one." That meant he knew of him. "Tell me what you know. Tell me everything."

Maxie's eyes widened. "He... He created the oceans themselves, and all within them. But he is no longer. Tale tells that he lies at the bottom of the darkest, coldest trench, awaiting the one destined to awaken him."

"Any idea where that trench might be?" Archie asked weakly, looking away at Maxie's look. "There's a reason we became pirates, you know."

Watching him, Maxie eventually sighed and shook his head. "No. My sister, Zinnia, would know much more of the subject. She is the scholar of us."

"Any chance she lives nearby?" Back at square one, then. Nothing. That had Maxie glaring at him.

"I left Zinnia, as well as the  _ rest _ of my siblings at home."

"Right, okay, sorry." Right. Siblings. Touchy subject.

"Zinnia was the only one I  _ didn't _ absolutely despise."

"Gotcha." Very bad past with his siblings, then. "So, uh, how many siblings did you have?"

"Six in total."

"Oh, jeez. I only have three siblings." Arceus, Zachery would be going into high school, now. That was, if he hadn't left when he was ten.

"You are the eldest." He said that like he knew... Oh.

"Yeah. Little brats are probably getting into heaps of trouble." Fuck, he missed them. "They're probably better off without me there, anyways. I always brought trouble home."

Maxie scoffed at that. "That blame rarely lies with the eldest."

"I can tell who the favorite in your family was, then." Bitter as the taste of ocean water.

" _ Octavius, _ " Maxie bit off. Right, very sore subject. What would help right now... well, that might work. Lunging forward, Archie caught himself on Maxie's shoulders, near dragging them both underwater as he grinned.

"Come swim with me some more."

He could hear the frown in Maxie's voice as he tried to turn over to look at Archie. "What- What are you doing?"

"Dunno. I can call it a hug or I can call it a tackle, depends on whatever you need, really." Tackles and play fighting had helped soothe Jane, but hugs had always put Zachary at ease. "C'mon. Swimming."

"A- Why would you  _ hug _ me?"

"You looked like you needed a hug." Archie shifted so he was hugging Maxie even tighter, face pressed up against his neck as the waves pushed them together. "Is it helping?"

"Is it supposed to be?" Huh. He seemed confused by this whole 'hug' thing. Maybe it wasn't a siren thing.

"Sometimes. Here, just- Try hugging me back." Archie loosened his grip a little, settling a bit more to rest his head on Maxie's shoulder as he let the siren shift about. It took a bit more coaxing, but Maxie finally hugged him, arms loose around his waist. There was a stretch of silence before he sighed quietly and relaxed into Archie's hold. Resisting the urge to say anything, Archie only hugged him back a bit tighter, pleased that the hug seemed to be helping.

Archie heard a... A sniff, and he wondered if maybe now Maxie smelled a school of fish nearby. But his shoulders were shaking- Oh. Oh, jeez. Fuck. Pulling Maxie close to him, Archie tucked the siren under his chin, holding him close. "'S okay, Maxie. You're alright."

It took a few minutes, but he heard quietly against his chest, "Maxie?"

"Yeah. I mean, Archie is short for Archibald, so I figure Maxie can be short for Maximillian. Still your name, just more you, I think."

"It is...strange. Human."

"I guess that's kind of a bad thing, then, huh?"

Maxie shook his head. "No. It is... better."

"Oh. Good- Glad. I'm glad you like it, then." Somehow, it felt stupidly right to be hugging a siren in the middle of the ocean at night. He barely even had to worry about swimming, with Maxie keeping him so easily afloat-

"Forty three moons." Okay, that one was random.

"Forty three moons?" Was that a countdown or a 'since then' kind of thing?

"It has been forty three moons since I left my home." Doing the math in his head, Archie got to three years before he was hugging Maxie as tight as he could.

"Fuck, Maxie." Three years on his own and probably hiding in the Spades... Fuck.

"I still cannot bring myself to regret ever leaving."

"Still, to be on your own that long? That's... That's incredible, Maxie. You're so amazing for being able to do something like that." Areceus knew Archie wouldn't be able to handle being on his own like that.

Maxie snorted, shaking his head. "I am weak and selfish." 

"Seriously? You just charmed an entire port and you just now helped us catch a huge school of fish. You are in no weak and  _ definitely _ not selfish." Just like whenever Archie tried to tell Maxie how great he was, the siren just clammed - heh, clam - up and seemed to deny it all. "Fine, we'll work on it." Finally letting him go, Archie shifted to grab the siren's wrist, grinning at him. "C'mon."

Maxie frowned at him. "Come where?"

"Anywhere- Everywhere! We're in the ocean," Archie laughed, pulling him along as best he could. "We can go wherever we want."

"Not particularly. Your pod would be most displeased to lose its captain." Maxie followed after him, a small smile beginning to worm its way onto his face.

"They'd survive without a captain." Not that Archie would ever leave them. "Bet I can beat you to the ship." With that Archie was summoning Bruce and latching onto him. "To the ship, Bruce!" Within seconds, Maxie was swimming beside him- Ahead. Maxie was swimming ahead of him. That ass. "Dammit. We're gonna have to try harder in the future, Brucie."

" _ Brucie, _ " Maxie laughed. He could laugh? That... That was good.

"Hey! Brucie is a great name!"Archie was smiling too much to really defend his pokemon, but Bruce seemed happy enough himself.

When Maxie got to the ship, he placed his hands against the wood and stared up. "What is it like to ride atop your vessel?"

"Freeing." Archie grabbed the rope ladder, letting Bruce go back to sleep inside his pokeball before he was looking to Maxie. "Here, c'mon. Wrap around my shoulders and I"ll give you a lift up and show you." Maxie snorted at that.

"You would not be able to hold me."

"Wanna bet?" Maxie seemed to give him a considering look before swimming over and holding onto him. Didn't seem too bad. Hoistering them up the ladder, Archie stumbled as they left the water and fuck. Why was he so  _ fucking heavy _ .

"Should I release my grip?"

"No, no, you're fine." Fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking  _ heavy _ . Didn't stop Archie from climbing up because now he had a fucking point to prove. Maxie tucked his face into Archie's shoulder, snickering quietly. "Shut up." Ignoring the laughter, Archie just barely made it over the railing, helping Maxie onto the deck. "I'd offer to take you up to the crow's nest, but maybe save that one for next time."

Maxie's hold tightened on him and he was silent, though Archie could feel him looking around, and scrunching down when he saw the night crew working the sails. Archie gave them a wave and a quick thumbs up, and, really, this was not the weirdest thing his crew had caught him doing. "'S okay. No one will hurt you."

"Agree to disagree," he heard Maxie mumble. Archie ruffled his hair, careful to avoid the fins.

"Just enjoy it. How long can you stay out of the water?"

"I don't know." Presumably until his tail dried out, then.

"We'll keep it short for now." Shifting carefully, Archie scooped Maxie into his arms and oh, that was much easier. "C'mon, I'll walk you around the edge." Maxie kept his arms around Archie's neck and he couldn't help but chuckle, "Like a princess."

Maxie immediately frowned up at him. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Archie laughed a bit more. "It's a human thing. From old fairy tales."

"You consider princesses to be the stuff of legend?"

"No- Well, some do. I was always more into all the stories about the ocean," Archie said quietly, carrying Maxie to the bow of the ship and setting him down on the figurehead. "You know, sirens and Kyogre and all that." Maxie nodded, silent once again. He remained facing away from Archie, instead staring out over the ocean from his new vantage point. "Let me know whenever you want to go back down." Sitting beside him, Archie faced the other way, watching his ship and the few crew members still awake.

"Is it always like this?"

"Always like what?"

"Beautiful."

"Yeah." Archie glanced back, Maxie's face soft and filled with wonder. "Yeah, it's always like that."

"...I wish I were human," he whispered. Archie... What could he even say to that? Quiet for a long, long moment, Archie finally gave a sigh, speaking just as softly - if not softer.

"I wish I were a siren."

Maxie quickly turned back to him, shaking his head. "No. You don't. You really don't. Tis a curse no being should bare-"

"You think being human is any better?" Archie shook his head once before shaking it sharper a second time. "I hate my own kind. I saw you eating my own kind and I was  _ happy _ ."

"Tis not my own free will, thou need not feast upon flesh to sate the hunger for a moment. Ye know not of the all consuming hunger that controls yer being." Wha- Archie didn't even understand half of that and it was startling enough to knock him out of his thoughts. Did... Did Maxie really see his existence as a curse?

"We're both kind of fucked up, huh?" Maxie only shook his head again, now leaning against Archie and chattering to himself quietly. He still didn't understand that language one bit. Leaning back against him, Archie thought over the words before huffing out a quiet laugh. "Me more than you, sounds like." Maxie didn't choose his curse. Archie felt like he sort of did. He felt Maxie shake his head against him, a clear disagreement, but he didn't say anything. Instead, the siren only placed his hand over top of Archie's.

Startled for a moment, Archie glanced down at their hands, wiggling a bit so their fingers were clasped and, huh, weird. It wasn't really  _ scaley _ , but it was weird. Very weird. Sharp nails - claws? - too. "My life is a curse," Maxie said again.

"Curses are meant to be broken." That was one thing he had alwasy believed, stupid as it sounded some days. "Maybe we can find a way to break yours."

Maxie huffed, holding Archie's hand tighter. "I wish thee luck."

"Don't need luck. I'm the one who's going to wake Kyogre up."

"You believe yourself to be the one destined to awaken the wave maker?"

"Dunno, never heard about anyone being destined, I just know I'm going to be the one to do it." Because the world had to fucking change and Archie wasn't stupid enough to think he could change it alone. But he could with help. He could do this. He  _ would _ . He had no other choice.

"...I will do what I can to assist you."


End file.
